The Starting Line
The Founder
Colgate Women’s Games was founded by Brooklyn’s own Fred Thompson in 1974 with the generous support of Colgate-Palmolive Company, which has remained the programs’ title sponsor for over four decades. Thompson was a US Olympic Track Team coach, founder of the Brooklyn Atoms Track Club, a US attorney, and a sportscaster for ABC Television. He also served as the Colgate Women’s Games’ Meet Director for forty years through 2014.
Meet the Director
Cheryl Toussaint is an Olympic medalist and original member of Thompson’s Brooklyn Atoms’ Track Club. She has been involved with Colgate Women’s Games since its inception; first as a competitor, then an official – before becoming the Assistant Meet Director in 1999. In 2014, she took the reins from Thompson and still serves as the Colgate Women’s Games’ Meet Director today. Toussaint is also a successful businesswoman and founded Tousse Apparel along the way.
Additional Background
Colgate Women’s Games alumnae include 26 Olympians, hundreds of national champions and Junior Olympians, teachers, judges, lawyers, executives and countless changed lives. Many of these athletes return year after year as Colgate Women’s Games officials where each gives back to the program.
While the Colgate Women’s Games exists first and foremost as a running competition, the series is equally centered on the importance of education. Colgate Women’s Games offers an incentive for young women to complete their education via supplemental grants and scholarships.
Colgate Women’s Games also provide a unique platform for college recruitment. University and college recruiters are often present at our meets or request results sheets. Today’s participants are among the most heavily recruited female student-athletes in the country.
We offer young women something positive to do. With financial support for after-school activities (all but eliminated in far too many school districts, especially for girls!) Colgate Women’s Games and its preparation for competition present a positive alternative and communal environment.
Colgate Women’s Games is sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive Company: a caring, innovative growth company that’s reimagining a healthier future for all.
